Genesis opens Liu Wei facade commission at New York's Metropolitan Museum
In short
Genesis, Hyundai Motor Group's luxury brand, is showing four large sculptures by Beijing-based artist Liu Wei on the facade of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, under a five-year partnership signed in 2024. The works, up to 5 metres tall, occupy four niches designed in 1902 for classical sculpture that stood empty for more than a century; the commission is scheduled to run until June 8 next year. Hyundai is also sponsoring exhibitions at the New Museum and holds a partnership with the Whitney Museum.
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Genesis, Hyundai Motor Group's luxury brand, is showing four large sculptures by Beijing-based artist Liu Wei on the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, under the title 'The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei, Speculation'. Korean reporters visiting the museum on Oct. 2, about an hour before opening, saw the works, up to 5 metres tall, set in the four niches of the main entrance on Fifth Avenue. The commission is the third under a five-year partnership Genesis signed with the Met in 2024: Lee Bul was the artist in 2024 and Jeffrey Gibson in 2025, the reports said. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Leslie Ma, the Met's curator of contemporary art, told Korean reporters that the facade is “the first exhibition visitors encounter”, showing that the museum looks at the present and future with living artists rather than only at its history. The works take “fragmentation, transformation and regeneration” as their theme, combining composite fibreglass, iron, aluminium alloy, polyurethane paint and cowhide into forms suggesting architectural fragments and parts of the body. A hand motif runs through all four pieces; Ma said hands have been depicted from religious imagery in Western painting to Buddhist gestures and raised fists, and represent the starting point of creation for the artist. Asia Economy reported that the four works carry titles referring to the cosmological constant, the gravitational constant, the speed of light and Planck's constant. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
The niches the sculptures occupy were designed for classical Western sculpture when the facade was completed in 1902 but stayed empty for more than 100 years, Ma said. The Met began inviting contemporary artists to fill them in 2019, according to Asia Economy and Bloter. Because the pieces stand outdoors for nine months, they had to be balanced against the building, readable from the street and durable enough for New York's changeable weather and harsh winter, the curator said. [ 2 , 4 , 5 ]
Max Hollein, the Met's director and CEO, said Liu Wei's work would show curiosity and innovation as well as the artist's distinctive humour, and that the museum was honoured to extend the possibilities of its facade through the commission, Bloter reported. [ 5 ]
Hyundai Motor is running other museum partnerships in parallel. At the New Museum, the “Hyundai Translocal Series: Ho Tzu Nyen” has been on show since Sept. 24, and the New Museum and Ulsan Museum of Art plan jointly organised exhibitions once a year through 2028, with a second Ho Tzu Nyen work to be unveiled in Ulsan on Oct. 22. Hyundai has also held a 10-year partnership with the Whitney Museum since 2024, sponsoring the Whitney Biennial and the Hyundai Terrace Commission. Asia Economy alone reports a partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art extended to 2037 and continuing cooperation with Britain's Tate. [ 2 , 4 , 6 ]
Bloter described the placement as brand building: the exterior wall reaches passers-by as well as ticket holders, and the commission's name stays constant even as the featured artist changes. It also noted that one of Lee Bul's works from the 2024 edition was acquired by the Met and is now displayed inside the museum. [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The commission places a Korean car brand's name on the exterior of a major New York museum, where it reaches passers-by as well as exhibition visitors, an approach the coverage describes as long-term brand building rather than product promotion. The programme also links Korean institutions to the museum partnerships: the New Museum and Ulsan Museum of Art plan jointly organised exhibitions through 2028. The documents give no figures on the value of the sponsorship or on visitor response.
Key facts
- Genesis, Hyundai Motor Group's luxury brand, runs 'The Genesis Facade Commission' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art under a five-year partnership signed in 2024. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The current edition shows four large sculptures by Beijing-based artist Liu Wei, titled 'Speculation', in the four niches of the museum's facade. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The niches, on a facade completed in 1902, were designed for classical Western sculpture but remained empty for more than 100 years. [ 4 , 5 ]
- The works, up to 5 metres tall, use composite fibreglass, iron, aluminium alloy, polyurethane paint and cowhide, and carry a repeated hand motif. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Previous Genesis Facade Commission artists were Lee Bul in 2024 and Jeffrey Gibson in 2025. [ 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- The Liu Wei commission is scheduled to run until June 8 next year. [ 2 ]
- Hyundai Motor also sponsors the 'Hyundai Translocal Series: Ho Tzu Nyen' at the New Museum, on show since Sept. 24, and has held a 10-year partnership with the Whitney Museum since 2024. [ 2 , 4 , 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Genesis has run 'The Genesis Facade Commission' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art under a five-year partnership signed in 2024. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The current commission shows four large sculptures by Beijing-based artist Liu Wei on the museum's facade. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The facade's four niches, on a building completed in 1902, were intended for classical Western sculpture and were empty for more than 100 years. [ 4 , 5 ]
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art began its facade commission series for contemporary artists in 2019. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Previous Genesis Facade Commission artists were Lee Bul in 2024 and Jeffrey Gibson in 2025. [ 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- Hyundai Motor sponsors exhibitions at the New Museum and holds a partnership with the Whitney Museum. [ 2 , 4 , 6 ]
- Leslie Ma, a curator of contemporary art at the Met, said the facade is the first exhibition visitors encounter and that the works must withstand nine months outdoors in New York weather. [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the Liu Wei facade commission opened on Sept. 17. Only Asia Economy gives a start date for the exhibition; the other reports describe it as currently on view without a start date.
- The scope of Hyundai's other art partnerships, including a partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art extended to 2037 and cooperation with Britain's Tate. These details appear in a single report, Asia Economy, and are not corroborated by other documents.
- No cost figure for the Genesis partnership or visitor numbers for the installation. None of the documents state how much Genesis pays for the partnership or how many visitors have seen the works.
- How the exhibition title 'Speculation' should be read. Asia Economy says the title deals with uncertainty, tension and conflict amid rapid change, while Seoul Economic Daily glosses it as contemplation.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art begins its facade commission series inviting contemporary artists to create works for the museum's front exterior. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Genesis and the Metropolitan Museum of Art sign a five-year partnership and launch The Genesis Facade Commission; Lee Bul is the first commissioned artist. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- 'The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei, Speculation' opens on the museum facade. [ 2 ]
- 'Hyundai Translocal Series: Ho Tzu Nyen' opens at the New Museum in New York. [ 2 , 4 , 6 ]
- Korean reporters visit the Met about an hour before opening and see four large sculptures at the main entrance. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Ho Tzu Nyen's new work 'P for Power: Double Life of P' is to be unveiled at the Ulsan Museum of Art. [ 2 , 4 ]
- The Ho Tzu Nyen exhibition at the New Museum is scheduled to run until Jan. 24 next year. [ 2 ]
- The Liu Wei facade commission is scheduled to run until June 8 next year. [ 2 ]